[InefficientRed]

Fast food is pricing itself out of the market. I think it's a great example of a sector that failed to innovate and is now incapable of providing a product worth buying at prices that are profitable.

McDonalds et al. probably should've been investing a lot more in automating their kitchens. The fact that a huge percent of locations -- and all drive-thrus -- still use humans for the ordering process is, similarly, inexcusable.

Unless the US massively increases its low-skilled immigration quotes, robotics firms will be the FAANG equivalents of the 2020s-2030s.

[whatshisface]

If McDonalds can't afford to pay a living wage at the local cost of living, nobody will immigrate to work for them.

[InefficientRed]

You can fit 3 generations in a single family home in an American suburb of a mid-sized city, and half the world's population would either (a) consider that a QoL improvement or at least (b) put up with it for a while to remit back home.

For all the doom and gloom in the USA, it's still an incredibly rich country.

To be clear: I'm not making a moral statement here. This is a statement of fact, not a statement of ethical preference.

[whatshisface]

Can three people working at McDonalds own a single family home in an American suburb?

[InefficientRed]

Someone working low-paid hourly wage work can probably make $20K. A few siblings + their parents = 5 people = $100K. Stagger availability schedules so there's always someone home with the kids, and share vehicles.

Suburb of top-tier cities? No. Cheapest suburb of a midwestern city? Absolutely.

Again, not saying it's reasonable. Just that it's possible.

[whatshisface]

So you argument essentially is that economic conditions dictate that within a few decade, there will be no restaurants in major cities.

[shagie]

Commuting. It is possible to commute to the low wages places within major cities while living in less expensive areas. This may be difficult if public transportation makes that too expensive and a losing prospect.

Total household income. It is possible to accept a lower wage job if the rest of the family is making more. A spouse or older child can add to the family budget even if the primary breadwinner is making more.

Grants / subsidized housing of some sort. College students making a few extra dollars while living in the dorms where the major expenses are paid elsewhere.

Back to the older children and summer jobs. Getting a job to do something over the summer and get a bit of spending money of their own.

---

Yes, lower paying jobs within higher cost of living areas are going to be having trouble finding people to work there. This has been a thing for many years. Even in the before times, there were constantly places that had "help wanted" signs out and were paying minimum wage. The ones in higher cost areas of the city were more likely to close resulting in more expensive restraints that can be supported by the people who are living the higher cost of living.

[InefficientRed]

> economic conditions dictate that within a few decade, there will be no restaurants in major cities.

No. Restaurants will continue to exist. Sit down in particular. In cases where you are paying for an experience; the economics will get worse, but they will continue to exist.

Fast food restaurants will even continue to exist. But the latter only with substantial automation. This has already happened at the front of the house -- kiosks and apps are the "happy path" ordering interfaces at every McD's in a major city. I'm merely projecting that the most cost-sensitive segment of the food services industry will push that automation into the kitchen, the checkout line, and a lot of the administrative work that happens at branches.

[maxerickson]

Houses in towns big enough for a McDonald's are $100,000.

Not suburbs, just towns, but there will be services and a hospital and so on.

[roflyear]

Three families can....